The U.S. Department of Justice asserted several privileges Monday over records that otherwise answer an Illinois federal judge's call for communications she'd sought while investigating a push to indict six ICE protesters, despite local prosecutors' earlier assertion that those same sorts of communications didn't exist.
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

DOJ Says Privilege Shields Chicago Protest Case Talks

By Lauraann Wood

The U.S. Department of Justice asserted several privileges Monday over records that otherwise answer an Illinois federal judge's call for communications she'd sought while investigating a push to indict six ICE protesters, despite local prosecutors' earlier assertion that those same sorts of communications didn't exist.

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States Win 2nd Bid To Block New FEMA Immigration Terms

By George Woolston

A Rhode Island federal judge has granted a bid from 20 states asking the court to again enforce an order that barred the Trump administration from conditioning the receipt of federal emergency funds on whether the states aid in the enforcement of federal immigration policies.

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Amazon Photos Users Get Class Cert In Illinois BIPA Suit

By Craig Clough

An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday certified a class of Amazon Photos users alleging the company collected their facial biometric data without the notice and consent required by Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act, but rejected a proposed class of non-users pictured in others' photos.

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49 AGs Give FCC Tips On Strengthening Robocall Database

By Nadia Dreid

The nation's attorneys general have some suggestions for the Federal Communications Commission on what it could do to curb the onslaught of illegal robocalls, billions of which hound Americans each month.

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Feature

One Shot, High Stakes: The Art Of The White Collar Allocution

By Chris Villani

White collar defendants typically have one chance to address judges. Experts say that effective allocutions can make a huge difference at sentencing, but proper preparation is key to make sure that clients avoid doing more harm than good.

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LITIGATION

Boeing Admits Liability, Seeks Appeal In 737 Door Plug Suit

By Ben Adlin

The Boeing Co. has acknowledged that a 737 Max jet manufactured in Renton, Washington, "was not reasonably safe in construction" when the plane left the aerospace giant's care — an oversight it said resulted in the blowout of the aircraft's door panel during a 2024 Alaska Airlines flight.

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NASCAR Sues Online Sellers Over Alleged Counterfeits

By Tom Lotshaw

Stock car racing giant NASCAR on Tuesday asked an Illinois federal judge to order undisclosed online entities to stop infringing on its trademarks and selling counterfeit merchandise, and to cough up damages from their profits.

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Staffing Co. Loses Coverage Bid For Poultry Employee Suit

By Danielle Ferguson

An insurer does not have to defend a staffing agency against a lawsuit alleging it shorted workers on overtime pay and cut into paychecks for required safety equipment, an Illinois federal court has ruled, finding that the underlying dispute fell under an insured v. insured exclusion. 

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Frozen Potato Benchmarker Can't Appeal Dismissal Loss

By Lauraann Wood

A benchmarking company that serves the frozen potato product market cannot take a midcase appeal of its losing bid to ditch consolidated price-fixing claims because the question it's looking to ask on appeal is not purely legal, an Illinois federal judge ruled.

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SEVENTH CIRCUIT

7th Circ. Mulls FCA Penalties For SuperValu Without Damages

By Celeste Bott

A Seventh Circuit panel grappled Tuesday with whether supermarket chain SuperValu Inc. could face billions of dollars in False Claims Act penalties for knowingly submitting false prescription drug claims when a jury found whistleblowers failed to prove the government suffered damages, with one judge characterizing the potential penalties as "mind-boggling."

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7th Circ. Orders BIA To Reconsider Deported Man's Visa Bid

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

A Seventh Circuit panel has ordered immigration officials to reconsider a Jamaican man's bid to reopen his deportation case.

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PEOPLE

Taft Taps 4 New Office Leaders Ahead Of Leadership Change

By Andrea Keckley

Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP on Monday unveiled four new office leaders as the firm prepares to change hands in 2028.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

McDonald's Antitrust Suits Spotlight Risks Of AI Pricing Tools

A pair of recent class actions filed against McDonald's in Illinois federal court show how antitrust challenges can arise when companies use artificial intelligence pricing tools and personalize prices for individual consumers, say attorneys at Patterson Belknap.

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Planning Personal Phone Collections Before Discovery Begins

For counsel planning a personal phone collection as part of the litigation discovery process, it's important to take early steps to ensure that necessary information will be obtained without exposing unrelated information or running into access issues, says Jeremy Horowitz at MARA Forensics.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

How A Child Of Immigrants Defends Abrego Garcia

By Corey Rothauser

Hecker Fink attorney Jeffrey Then grew up translating English-language letters for customers at his Dominican immigrant family’s Bronx business. Decades later, he drew on that experience while defending Kilmar Abrego Garcia from federal human smuggling charges, becoming a lifeline for Abrego Garcia during his detention.

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Q&A

John Morgan On Why Luck Matters More Than Most Admit

By Y. Peter Kang

John Morgan, founder of personal injury giant Morgan & Morgan PA, built the largest personal injury firm in the U.S., with 1,110 attorneys in 140 locations. In his new memoir, "Life Is Luck," the attorney who Forbes estimates has a net worth of $1.5 billion argues that success is about more than talent, intelligence or determination. It is also about recognizing opportunities, taking risks and capitalizing on fortunate breaks when they appear.

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Wachtell To Probe Nvidia CEO's Affair With Alleged China Spy

By Anna Scott Farrell and Sue Reisinger

Nvidia has hired Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz to lead an investigation into allegations that its founder and CEO had an affair with a business executive who U.S. intelligence believes is a Chinese spy, the artificial intelligence chipmaker said Tuesday.

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Grassley Defends Rush To Confirm Trump Judicial Picks

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday defended how quickly the committee is moving to confirm President Donald Trump's judicial picks before Democrats control the Senate.

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Trump Swaps Out Blocked 8th Circ. Nominee With Ark. Justice

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump on Tuesday withdrew his pick for the Eighth Circuit and replaced him with a different nominee amid apparent opposition from Arkansas' senators. 

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Girardi Estate's $54M Claim Put Behind Other Creditors

By Craig Clough

The trustees overseeing Tom Girardi's and his former law firm's bankruptcies struck a deal to put their claims against each other behind other approved general unsecured claims, according to a California bankruptcy court filing, with the firm's trustee saying neither estate is expected to collect on those claims.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Aschemann Keller

Ashurst Perkins

Benesch

Cravath Swaine

Fick & Marx

Fox Rothschild

Girardi & Keese

Goode Casseb

Gustafson Gluek

Hecker Fink

Helmer Martins

Hughes Socol

K&L Gates

Keller Rohrback

Levene Neale

Lindsay Pickett

Littler Mendelson

Mayer Brown

Morgan & Morgan PA

Morgan Lewis

Murphy & Murphy LLC

Patterson Belknap

Phelps Dunbar

Quinn Emanuel

Raines Feldman

Sparacino PLLC

Stephan Zouras

Stokes Lawrence

Taft Stettinius

Traub Lieberman

Wachtell Lipton

Wexler Boley

Williams & Connolly

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Affordable Care LLC

Amazon.com Inc.

Apple Inc.

Cable News Network Inc.

Cleveland Browns Football Company LLC

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.

Google LLC

JetBlue Airways Corp.

Lamb Weston Holdings Inc.

ManpowerGroup Inc.

Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc.

McCain Foods USA Inc.

McDonald's Corp.

Microsoft Corp.

Molina Healthcare Inc.

NASCAR Digital Media LLC

NFL Enterprises LLC

NVIDIA Corp.

National Retail Federation Inc.

PG&E Corp.

Philadelphia Consolidated Holding Corp.

RealPage Inc.

Redner's Markets Inc.

Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits LLC

Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc.

Supervalu Inc.

The Associated Press

The Boeing Co.

The J.R. Simplot Company

UBS Group AG

Uber Technologies Inc.

Universal Health Services Inc.

Walmart Inc.

YouTube Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Arkansas Supreme Court

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Communications Commission

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Trade Commission

Homeland Security Investigations

National Transportation Safety Board

New York City Police Department

Office of Justice Programs

Social Security Administration

Texas Supreme Court

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Rhode Island

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Transportation

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island

U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of North Dakota